Bruises Fade, Memories Don't
by Lunchbox413
Summary: His brain immediately begins coming up with explanations that he could easily use—dozens of lies that could cut this boy, who'd cut him so deep that not even he has fully explored the depths of the wound—but instead, the most unlikely answer comes out. "I just want to forget about you." - A KakaSasu fic.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. If I did, KakaSasu would be canon and Jiraiya would still be alive.**

**A/N: I wrote this as sort of a sequel to my fic, "Responsibility" but you do not have to read that story to understand this one. It's set right after the Sasuke arc in Shippuden when Naruto, Sakura, Yamato, and Sai return from their mission after finding Sasuke in Orochimaru's hideout. **

**Also, this does get a little steamy at parts, which is why it's rated T, but I can assure you that it's not a lemon.**

**Song that inspired this story: John Mayer - Edge of Desire**

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It's only been three days since his team returned with news about their former teammate, and Kakashi has been pouring over the mission report continuously since Tsunade reluctantly handed it over to him. He's read it so many times, trying to find some scenario that would not have ended differently if he had been there, but he can't find one. Each premise that he imagines always ends with him changing the outcome. Each one ends with the possibility of Sasuke's retrieval.

He tries to stifle a yawn, determined not to waste time on sleep, but the yawn manages to escape anyway. His body is stiff from sitting in his hard desk chair for so long and he leans back and extends his arms out to the sides, stretching and pulling the muscles out of their tight coil. He can't enjoy it though, because the cold, metal edge of a kunai being held to his neck causes him to freeze; his arms are still stretched out to the sides.

He's been caught. He's not sure how he missed it, how he didn't smell the intruder or hear them enter. He's never been caught off guard like this, but being awake for 40 hours straight seems to be affecting him more than he thought. He's wide awake now and already strategizing how to get out of this unfortunate situation. There are various weapons concealed all over the room for emergencies and the kunai he has taped on the underside of the desk is probably his best bet. He just has to figure out how to get to it without the assailant noticing.

Just as he settles on a plan, the kunai tightens against his neck. "Don't. I'll slit your throat before you can even reach it."

The intruder's voice is unmistakable. It's a little deeper than he remembers, but that impassive, even-toned voice will forever be etched into his brain. It's the voice he hears in his memories, in his dreams, and more often in his nightmares.

Now he's really disappointed with himself. He should have recognized that smell immediately, the smokey scent that clings to a person when they've been spending a lot of time around fire. There's only one person he knows of who always smells like this.

"It's been a long time, Sasuke." He says it stoically, careful not to show his enervation.

"Apparently, too long. You've gotten lazy in my absence," the Uchiha mocks.

Kakashi chuckles. "That may be so, but it seems you haven't changed at all. You're still arrogant as ever."

"And you still talk too much," Sasuke quickly retorts, still with no inflection in his voice, and Kakashi finds himself missing the quick temper of the boy who was once so easy to unravel.

"To what do I owe the honor?" He doesn't bother to mask his sarcasm, hoping that his reserved behavior will break through the stolid shell that his former student has encased himself in. He's always had a talent for igniting the Uchiha temper.

"You missed our little Team 7 reunion," Sasuke leans down close the copy-nin's ear, "so I figured I'd come by and pay you a special visit." His voice is low as he says the last part, his breath hot on the older man's ear.

It takes all of Kakashi's self-control to fight off the shiver that threatens to crawl down his spine and his arms are beginning to ache from being suspended in the air for so long. Once he's sure that he's in control, he lets out the breath he's been holding. He slides his open eye over, catching the teen in his peripherals to assess the situation before making the decision to lower his arms. He keeps his hands open in submission as he does it, not wanting to spark a violent reaction from his captor. As expected, Sasuke allows the change in position, but watches him closely and keeps the kunai firmly against his throat.

"That's very thoughtful of you. Perhaps you have changed."

The younger shinobi chuckles low and soft into his teacher's ear. "Oh, I have definitely changed. I've grown up...and I've surpassed you now."

Kakashi scoffs. "I suppose that's why you felt the need to sneak up on me while I'm sleep deprived and unarmed, right?"

Sasuke makes a small "Tch" sound that he often makes when irritated, and he pulls the kunai even tighter against the Jounin's throat, so much so that Kakashi can feel it scraping at his skin when he swallows.

"Like I said, you still talk too much," the Uchiha hisses.

The copy-nin snickers and the blade presses into his throat as he does. "Well, what can I say? I guess I never really learn from my mistakes."

His captor leans in even closer to his ear so that his lips graze the skin as he speaks. "Is that why you didn't come looking for me? Were you too afraid to face me again?"

This time, Kakashi's body reacts too violently and he can only partially suppress the shiver. His whole body trembles and it evokes another chuckle from the belligerent teen.

"You're pathetic."

"No," he chokes out, ignoring his former student's derision, "that's not it at all."

"Oh really?" Sasuke mocks, "Then please, by all means, enlighten me."

His brain immediately begins coming up with explanations that he could easily use—dozens of lies that could cut this boy, who'd cut him so deep that not even he has fully explored the depths of the wound—but instead, the most unlikely answer comes out. "I just want to forget about you."

Sasuke says nothing, but Kakashi can feel the teen's grip tightening on his shoulder. He's squeezing so hard now that it hurts, but the Jounin presses on, spilling more truths that, up until now, have been buried in abeyance. "I know that I couldn't have stopped you from leaving and that I still can't stop you from following your own path, but the guilt was..._is_ still so bad that it's ruining me...so I have to bury it. And the only way to do that is to forget about you. I have to erase every memory and thought associated with you."

The Uchiha is still silent, but he's squeezing Kakashi's shoulder so tightly and the hand that is holding the kunai to his neck is trembling, making the copy-nin a bit nervous. One violent flinch from the teen and he's going to have a very large, very deadly incision across his neck. He considers speaking again, but decides against it, afraid that his words might instigate his former student's fury.

Sasuke's rage is already radiating from his body. Kakashi can practically taste the licentious energy in the air and feel the electric chakra prickling his skin, igniting gooseflesh to flare up all over his body. Just this modicum of the teen's vehement power is overwhelming him, igniting a fire deep in his stomach that flares and twists, licking and scorching his insides.

And then, suddenly, the kunai is discarded and Sasuke's in his lap, straddling him in the chair. Kakashi looks up at his former student, watching for any sign of vacillation in the boy's expression, but there is none. Sasuke meets his mismatched eyes with a salacious smirk before pulling off the man's arcane mask with one hand, grabbing a fistful of silver hair in the other, and voraciously kissing the older shinobi.

And they're off.

Hands and lips and fingers and teeth move in a disarray of intricate patterns that not even they would be able repeat or decode, and all the while, the little voice in Kakashi's head (that far too often sounds like Obito) is screaming at him to stop, stop, STOP! But he can't stop, not while he has Sasuke here, in his home, in his arms, where he can see him, feel him, touch him, taste him. Not while he has this chance to hold onto his beloved, errant student and possibly make him stay here, even if only for a minute longer. So, he blocks out the voice (Obito), staunches all vexatious thoughts, and allows himself to succumb to the heat of the moment.

Sasuke doesn't seem to have any reservations about physically assaulting his former teacher, and he does it with the same insatiable appetite that he has always had when approaching everything else in his life. However, the overzealous teen only really has a handle on the basics, and as soon as the copy-nin begins throwing his tongue into the mix, Sasuke's inexperience begins to show.

Sensing the boy's hesitation, Kakashi grabs a firm hold on the back of his neck and takes control, slowing their frenetic movements and setting a slow, steady rhythm. He grazes his tongue along the roof of Sasuke's mouth and incites a violent quiver throughout the Uchiha's slender body. He smirks and receives a glare from obstinate onyx eyes.

As if the smirk is a challenge, Sasuke pulls the fistful of silver hair again, and sinks his teeth into the older man's neck. Kakashi bites his lip and inhales sharply, suppressing the groan that's rising up in his chest, and he feels thin lips curl into a smirk against his skin. Taking that as his own challenge, he slides his hand down, grabbing a firm hold of Sasuke's gaunt hip and grinds up against him.

The Uchiha bites the same spot again and releases a hiss against the Jounin's skin as his body succumbs to ferocious tremors. Kakashi chuckles low in his throat and tenderly rubs a thumb along the boy's lithe jawline before pulling him in for another ravenous kiss.

Sasuke eagerly accepts the kiss and loosens his grip on the scarecrow's silver hair for a moment and Kakashi contemplates moving this to the bed, (because the wooden chair is seriously doing a number on his back) but the Uchiha teen chooses this moment to grind him into the chair.

He fights, but he can't suppress the groan this time, and as he tries to catch his breath and regain control, he languidly looks up at his former student through half-lidded eyes. There's a look of satisfaction on Sasuke's face that he only ever wears when he knows he's won and Kakashi wonders what's got him looking so confident, but he doesn't have time to ponder it because the Uchiha is grinding his hips against his again. He lets out another groan, and Sasuke swallows it hungrily, and slides his tongue along the roof of the copy-nin's mouth (just as Kakashi did earlier) before pulling away. The Uchiha has always been a quick learner, and it appears that his copy-cat skills don't just apply to jutsu.

The teen leans in close and Kakashi moves to meet his lips, but Sasuke dodges his mouth and sinks his teeth into the copy-nin's neck again, in the same spot as before, but even harder this time. He inhales sharply again, and Sasuke chuckles and licks the spot.

Kakashi's not certain, because the pain is so consuming, but he thinks he can smell the coppery scent of blood. He tries to plot retaliation, but his brain is feeling a bit torpid and he can't seem to get enough air into his lungs, so he releases his grip and rests his hands lazily on the teen's thighs.

Sasuke chuckles again and leans in close to his ear. "Just try and forget about me now."

And suddenly, the weight of the other body on top of him is gone and the space above him is empty and he's alone in the room. He looks around, disoriented from the heady scent of arousal and copper in the air, and he notices the open window. Sasuke is nowhere in sight. Even the kunai that he hastily dropped when this all began, is missing from the floor.

Seeing no proof of the Uchiha's presence, Kakashi desperately tries to convince himself that it was all just a bizarre, twisted dream, but the throbbing wound on his neck dispels any hope of that.

Taking a deep breath, he pushes himself out of the chair, and he's pretty sure he has a bruise where the chair was digging into his back. He moves over to stand in front of the mirror and pulls his shirt over his head, mask and all.

"Shit."

Sure enough, there is the beginnings of a large bruise on his back and the bite mark on his neck is bleeding and already turning a purplish color. He leans over and rests his hands against the wall on both sides of the mirror to get a closer look at the wound. It's not too bad. The teeth barely broke skin. His usual attire with his mask should cover it up until then, but he's almost certain that the memories of this night will not fade nearly as fast as the bruises.

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**Okay, well...there it is. It's been a while since I've written anything steamy like this, so I'm a little out of practice. If you enjoy it, please review. Good reviews encourage me to write more. ****Thanks for reading!**


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